The best start-up firms in Northern Ireland have been revealed.

The inaugural awards, part of the recognise excellence in nascent entrepreneurship across nine 海角视频 nations and regions of the 海角视频 - supported nationally by BT, Clearco, Moblox, Fearless Adventures and with regional support from Moja Group.

The Northern Ireland final was held at the Ulster Museum in Belfast and saw 14 different awards.

The Start-up of the Year for Northern Ireland was won by Scanmatix, which also won the Business-to-Business Start- up of the year category. The firm was established in 2020 to provide business owners with a software tool and services to improve efficiencies, increase turnover, increase margin, and improve customer retention and loyalty by ensuring that they can always fulfil orders in-store and online.

The awards were judged by a panel of prominent local judges, including Dave Linton, of Madlug, Dr Roisin Molloy of Trimedika and Audrey Osbourne of TechStart Ventures.

Originally formed as the Wales StartUp Awards in 2016, the Awards Series has joined forces with the to take the celebration of newly formed businesses nationwide. Creator of the awards Professor Dylan Jones-Evans said the inaugural event had recognised the amazing entrepreneurial talent that exists across Northern Ireland.

He added: 鈥淲e鈥檙e so proud of the amazing reception the first year of the StartUp Awards National Series has had across all the nations and regions of the 海角视频. We have heard exceptional stories of dedication and passion from founders of new Northern Ireland firms, and it was an honour to showcase these local entrepreneurial heroes in Belfast last night.

"With record numbers of new businesses being created in Northern Ireland, there is no better time to celebrate the achievements of these amazing businesses that are creating employment and wealth in their local communities.

鈥淎 huge congratulations to all the category winners and especially to the team at Scanmatrix that, like many others, started and traded during the Covid pandemic and through resilience, innovation, and sheer hard work, have succeeded and thrived during the most difficult economic circumstances.

" They, and many of the other winners, are going to have a major impact on their sector in years to come and we look forward to seeing what鈥檚 next for these amazing entrepreneurs and their businesses.鈥

THE winners in full

Northern Ireland Start-up of the Year

Business to Business Services Start-up of the Year

Consumer Services Start-up of the Year

Creative Start-up of the Year

Digital Start-up of the Year

Food and Drink Start-up of the Year

Global Start-up of the Year

Innovative Start-up of the Year

Mobile and Emerging Technologies Start-up of the Year

Online Retail Start-up of the Year

Professional Services Start-up of the Year

Rural Start-up of the Year

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Belfast Start-up of the Year

Rising Stars

Tara Pollock, director of corporate affairs, enterprise at BT said: 鈥淚t has been a pleasure to be a judge for the Awards Series and see the incredible work that startups have been doing across areas such as B2B, professional services and future innovation.

鈥淎t BT, we are committed to championing the cause of small businesses and start-ups because we recognise the creativity and value they bring to our economy. I鈥檇 like to say a huge congratulations to all the winners on their achievements and wish them well for the future.鈥